William Hill Staff Stages Walkout: Is The Company Doomed?

William Hill is arguably one of the biggest names on the European iGaming front. The firm has been around for 70 years and has had a consistently good reputation, but in the past couple of weeks has undergone a major crisis with its employees that may raise concerns over the future of the business.

Eyal Sanoff, the Chief Marketing Officer of William Hill Online officially resigned on September 27. Last week, nearly 200 employees in the company’s Tel Aviv headquarters followed his lead. The remaining employees panicked, and more staff started bailing from their offices in Manila and Bulgaria.

One anonymous employee told reporters that Sanoff was a well-respected executive of William Hill and after he left, they began to doubt what management had in mind for them.

Their fears may be validated. In addition to uncertainty raised by Sanoff’s departure, rumors have circulated that William Hill is thinking about cutting the joint venture it set up with Playtech three years ago. If the business deal with Playtech turns messy, it could amount to a bloodbath, complete with layoffs and pay cuts. Many employees seem eager to get out of the company before that starts happening. It would appear that William Hill CEO Ralph Topping (pictured above) has a lot to deal with on his plate.

A report by Calvin Ayre reflects on concerns there may be a coverup. Employees and reporters want to know why William Hill didn’t let anyone know of Sanoff’s resignation until a couple of weeks after the fact. Although executives at William Hill insisted they had no intention of moving their marketing team out of Tel Aviv, their statements have been met with skepticism.

The remaining employees at William Hill’s Tel Aviv office seem pretty pissed off right now and may not stick around indefinitely. According to a report by eGR, management actually had to bribe them to keep them with an extra month’s pay and a few other perks to keep them from bailing with their former colleagues. The problems are still playing out and it’s unclear how long management can keep the problem from escalating.

What impact do you think this tension will have on William Hill? Share your thoughts in the comments below.

Word on the ground is that the Tel Aviv office is suspected of either fiddling the numbers or refusing to provide access to data to the head office – ample grounds for kicking Eyal out (if he hadn’t jumped before being pushed).